Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

In the Estuary, the Mad Prince held the Guiding Light and said:

"Changing Star."

The staff responded, and the soul shard glowed brightly, pointing to a location beyond the mist.

The shadows around him surged, forming into the shape of a massive serpent.

The shadow serpent submerged into the River, swimming toward the direction indicated by the staff.

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In Verge, the army of Awakened continued charging toward the retreating abominations, killing them as they fled.

Raphael stood above, gazing down at the earth beneath him.

Beside him, Nephis stood still, staring into the empty air—or so it seemed. But Raphael knew she was focused on Sunny's runes.

Her body trembled, and then she collapsed, losing her balance.

The Nephis he knew would never act this way in the midst of battle, but now, she didn't care.

First, her mother. Then, her father. And now, the one she loved.

She remembered her True Name, Changing Star—another way to say it was Star of Ruin.

Was this her fate? To bring misery to others? From the beginning, she had enslaved him, and with his obsession with freedom, Sunny had become corrupted.

From the sky, Kai noticed Nephis and Raphael in this state. With no one protecting them, he descended.

Reaching Nephis, he placed a hand on her shoulder and asked:

"Lady Nephis, what is go—"

Kai stopped mid-sentence. In front of him, Nephis was crying, silver tears falling from her eyes.

Kai was stunned. From his right side, Effie ran to Nephis.

Seeing her like this, Effie was worried. She grabbed Nephis by the shoulders and shook her.

"Princess! What's going on?!"

But Nephis didn't respond, though her hiccups were audible.

Cassie walked over to Raphael, standing in front of him.

"Is it…"

Raphael didn't reply, still staring at the ground.

Cassie took a deep breath.

She had tried. She truly had. She believed that with Raphael's help, they could finish this Nightmare in one loop… but fate had other plans.

From behind, Mordret approached, walking in his usual body. He turned to Cassie and asked:

"What's happened, Lady Cassie?"

Cassie glanced back at him and replied:

"We lost. That's what happened."

The smile vanished from Mordret's face, replaced by a blank expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Just like she said, we lost. That cockroach was corrupted."

Mordret turned to Raphael, who stood up. He stayed silent for a moment before speaking:

"So what? Are you just going to give up because someone got corrupted?"

Raphael laughed bitterly, unable to stop.

"The only way to kill the First Seeker was with Nephis's help. And now? She can't even stand!"

He turned to Mordret and chuckled.

"Why do you think we can kill the First Seeker before the corrupted Sunny reached us?"

Taking his gaze away from Mordret, Raphael looked toward the Great River. The Mad Prince was near. He wouldn't take more than five minutes to reach Verge.

Raphael walked over to Nephis. Reaching her, he punched her in the face.

"Wake the fuck up!"

Nephis blinked several times, trembling as she spoke.

"R-Raph, Sunny… he's corrupted…"

"I know. I know. But crying here won't change anything… and there's still a chance to save him."

"What do you mean?!"

"Remember what I told you about the Great River?"

Nephis nodded.

"Good. The Great River is an infinite loop. Theoretically, if someone travels from the future to the past, they can start a new loop, one that begins when we first entered this Nightmare—when Sunny wasn't corrupted."

Nephis stared at Raphael, her hope rekindled by his words.

"To do that, we have to kill the corrupted Sunny. And we need your help. Do you understand?"

Nephis nodded as she stood up.

Raphael looked around and said:

"Now, let's make a plan—"

Suddenly, the River erupted, and a black serpent emerged from its depths.

The Mad Prince had arrived earlier than expected.

Raphael gritted his teeth and shouted to Nephis:

"Nephis! Do it now!"

Nephis looked at the corrupted Sunny and whispered:

"I'm sorry… Sunny."

Then, her voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Sunny, stop!"

But to Raphael's horror, the Mad Prince didn't stop. He continued laughing.

Finally, Raphael noticed: the Mad Prince had no eyes or ears, making him unable to see or hear Nephis's command.

"Hehehehehehehe!"

The Mad Prince laughed like a lunatic.

"Do you hear? Do you want truth? Truth! Truth! Truth!"

He also spoke like one.

Suddenly, Cassie moved toward the dead Great Tyrant, her red dress soaked in blood.

Reaching the corpse, she turned to the cohort and gave them a sad smile.

"I really wanted to believe we could do it, that we'd finish this Nightmare. But it seems we weren't fated to… I'm sorry, and I… I love you all."

"No! Cassie, stop!"

Nephis screamed, trying to reach her, but it was too late.

With a broken smile, Cassie touched the black ink.

Her body trembled, and she screamed in unbearable pain. Dark tentacles surged from her red dress, and her once-vivid face became a mask of madness and corruption.

Cassie was gone. Torment was born.

The Mad Prince laughed. After a few moments, he spoke:

"You want to hear? Hear! Hehehehe!"

Then the Mad Prince uttered a word that brought doom.

Raphael tried to block out the sound, but it was too late.

"Azathoth!"

And thus a seed of corruption was born in his soul.

Raphael felt pain—far worse than anything he had ever experienced. But he was no stranger to pain, even at this intensity.

Inside his soul sea, the corruption spread rapidly. Then, suddenly, it stopped—or rather, it slowed down.

Mohg's theory was wrong. Despite his immortality, Raphael wasn't immune to corruption, nor could he regenerate from it. All he could do was resist it.

Feeling the corruption's pace slow, Raphael looked around. Everyone near the Mad Prince was already succumbing to corruption, including his own cohort. Only Nephis remained, frantically yelling for the others.

Behind him, the army of Awakened exchanged glances. They understood what corruption meant and the fate awaiting those who succumbed. Silently, they smiled at one another before taking their own lives in swift, merciful ways.

Thus, the people of Twilight—and their Awakened—ceased to exist, finding peace in death.

Raphael gritted his teeth. He had lost. He'd been nothing more than a pawn in someone else's game. At first, he couldn't understand why everything had unraveled so perfectly according to his plan. Now, he knew—it was because he was [Fated] to fail from the start.

Suddenly, something ancient and terrifying stirred within his soul.

After months of slumber, the Daemon of Choice and Destiny, Nether, awakened.

Unlike before, Nether didn't try to devour the corruption. Instead, it joined forces with Raphael's soul to combat it, creating a fragile balance within him.

In the end even Daemons, can be corrupted.

With this newfound balance, Raphael regained control of his body. The pain remained, an unrelenting torture, but he stood tall.

His body continued to change, though at a much slower pace. But Raphael didn't care. As long as his soul and mind remained intact, nothing else mattered.

On the battlefield, the Mad Prince fought Nephis. To no one's surprise, Nephis was losing. In truth, it was never a fight—it was a massacre.

She tried to strike his chest, but he dodged effortlessly, countering with a slash that left her gravely injured. Finally, Nephis collapsed to one knee, her strength utterly spent.

She looked up to see the cruel smile of her former friend and lover as he prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

The sharp clash of metal echoed through the air.

Raphael appeared out of nowhere, parrying the Mad Prince's attack with his right hand while delivering a powerful punch to his stomach with his left.

The Mad Prince was flung backward by the sheer force of the blow.

Nephis stared at Raphael. Something about him was different. His presence was far more menacing, reminiscent of the time he had slaughtered the forces of two clans with terrifying ease.

With Nether awakened, Raphael had become something akin to a Transcendent Titan.

Still focused on the Mad Prince, Raphael spoke to Nephis without looking at her.

"Go. Leave this place and find somewhere to hide."

Nephis clenched her fists and struggled to her feet. "No… I can still fight."

"I told you once, and I won't say it again—leave now, or I'll kill you myself!"

She gritted her teeth. Raphael was right. In her current state, she was nothing but a burden.

"…I'm sorry."

For the first time, the great daughter of the Immortal Flame Clan retreated from a battle.

Raphael looked in front of him.

Behind the Mad Prince were five figures. The harrowing dragon, The Dread Lord. An amalgamation of countless people and numerous Nightmare Creatures, The Soul Stealer. A wraith, with a body like mist, Undying Slaughter. A woman wearing a red dress from which black tentacles emerged, Torment. Finally, a terrifying giant that resembled a female human, Devouring Beast.

Raphael looked at them, his eyes full of madness and insanity.

"I'll fucking kill you! I'll butcher you into hundreds of pieces!"

He then summoned one of his memories.

Before Raphael started the attack on the clans, he ordered Mohg to create for him a memory. The memory had one job... to unleash the darkness stored inside of it.

Raphael had already predicted that his connection with the Underworld would be cut off, so he made this memory for emergencies.

And what better time to use it than now?

The memory finally materialized. It was a simple black banner.

Raphael raised it to the sky, then dug it deep into the ground and activated its single enhancement.

From the banner, darkness emerged, covering the whole Verge.

Swords of Darkness appeared in Raphael's two hands.

In this Domain of Darkness, he was the Predator, and they were the prey!

He dashed forward to the six plagues, his swords in his hands.

Raphael instantly knew what he needed to eliminate first: Torment.

Thus, he ran toward her.

Suddenly, he felt his soul being invaded. Raphael grinned.

Inside his Soul Sea, Soul Stealer found himself in a dark place. In the sky were seven orbs of darkness.

Suddenly, Soul Stealer felt something behind him, but he didn't dare to look back! It was instinctual fear.

Behind Soul Stealer was a giant being shrouded in darkness. From its back, two black crow wings emerged.

The black water rose, circling around him. It started tearing him apart piece by piece.

The sound of glass breaking echoed as the giant figure shrouded in darkness continued to tear Soul Stealer like an ant.

Suddenly, Soul Stealer was gone. The being glanced briefly at where Soul Stealer had been, then disappeared back into the black water.

Raphael wasn't upset about Soul Stealer escaping because the damage inflicted wouldn't let him continue fighting!

With Soul Stealer gone, only five plagues remained.

Transcending the speed of sound, Raphael reached Torment in a moment. He then activated his [Seer] ability.

In a mere 0.0018 seconds, Raphael had killed Torment more than a thousand times, yet at the same time, Torment had escaped death more than a thousand times too!

In the next moment, Raphael grinned and slashed at Torment with his right-hand sword.

Torment dodged effortlessly, but Raphael didn't let her get away and followed with another slash.

The battle continued like that for a few seconds. Suddenly, a wraith wrapped in mist attacked Raphael from behind.

Raphael grinned and jumped above Torment, making a side flip and reaching her back.

Thanks to the force of her attack

Undying Slaughter couldn't stop her attack, and with Raphael now behind her, Torment couldn't dodge!

It was a plan without flaw!

Raphael raised his dark sword and slashed at Torment. A dark slash emerged from the blade, cutting the left side of Torment, but the dark slash didn't stop—it continued toward Undying Slaughter.

The Darkness didn't care whether it attacked a physical body or a soul. In the end, it devoured all!

'Tsk, she dodged at the last second.'

Raphael quickly tried to finish Torment, but suddenly the earth beneath him shook.

In the sky, the giant figure of the Devouring Beast came into view. Her massive arm descended, aiming to catch Raphael.

Seeing this, Raphael summoned his wings and launched toward the Devouring Beast's hand.

Reaching it, Raphael unleashed the force of a Transcendent Titan, kicking her hand with a thunderous impact.

The heavens above them trembled, and the Great River turned chaotic.

The Devouring Beast, shocked by the attack, lost her balance for a moment.

Raphael dug his two swords deep into her arm and started running along it.

He continued slicing through her arm until he reached her shoulder, where he unleashed a large dark slash that severed her arm from her body.

But he didn't stop there. He reached her head, stared into her left eye, and summoned a large spear of darkness, thrusting it deep into her skull.

The Devouring Beast laughed even as she fell to her doom.

When she struck the Verge, the entire city shook, and tsunamis erupted around it.

From the sky, the Dread Lord soared downward, jaws open wide, descending upon Raphael.

Raphael's body grew larger as the jaws of the Dread Lord reached him. Using his hands, he caught both the upper and lower jaws.

The two descended to the ground, Raphael's feet digging deep into the earth.

Finally, they came to a halt. Raphael looked deep into the Dread Lord's eye and grinned madly. Unfortunately, the Dread Lord couldn't see it through the helmet.

Raphael applied more force with his hands, his armor's claws digging into the dragon's scales.

With the strength of a Transcendent Titan, Raphael hoisted the harrowing dragon into the air and flipped him upside down.

The Dread Lord's back slammed into the ground, and he screamed in pain.

Raphael jumped into the sky and descended on the dragon to finish him off.

Suddenly, a woman wrapped in black onyx armor emerged from the darkness and attacked him.

Raphael glared at Saint and yelled:

"How dare you attack your creator, you piece of trash!"

Raphael landed on the ground, surrounded by three figures: the Mad Prince, Saint, and Fiend.

He looked at them and grinned like a madman.

"Come at me, all of you! Hahahah."

Beneath his two arms, another set of arms emerged.

And just as he demanded, the three attacked.

Fiend roared and swung his massive hand at Raphael.

Raphael swiftly caught his hand and dodged behind him.

Now, with Raphael behind Fiend, he used him as a shield against the attacks of the Mad Prince and Saint.

The two couldn't stop their attacks, so they tried to mitigate the damage.

Saint searched for Raphael, but he was already behind her!

With tremendous force, he punched Saint in the abdomen, shattering her onyx armor and sending her flying.

Now only the Mad Prince remained.

As for Fiend, Raphael had already broken his arm!

The Mad Prince launched himself at Raphael, slashing at his upper right arm.

Raphael had dodged even before the blade reached him, and with a swift kick, he struck the Mad Prince on his left side.

To Raphael's surprise, the Mad Prince effortlessly dodged and countered.

Raphael retreated backward, creating space between them.

He finally realized why the Mad Prince hadn't attacked him earlier.

He had been analyzing Raphael, watching his fighting style, and using the Shadow Dance to adapt to him!

Even in corruption, the Mad Prince's treacherous plans and schemes remained intact.

'So what? If you adapt to my fighting style, I just need to change it!'

From the surrounding darkness, a staff materialized in Raphael's hands.

His body returned to normal.

Twisting the staff in his hands, Raphael prepared himself as the Mad Prince dashed toward him.

Using the staff, Raphael parried and deflected every attack.

After several relentless seconds of defense, Raphael saw an opening!

With precision, he thrust his staff at the Mad Prince's left leg.

Suddenly, the Mad Prince pulled his leg back and spun in a 360-degree turn, slashing at where Raphael stood.

It was a trap! Raphael had fallen into the Mad Prince's ploy.

The Mad Prince's blade slashed… but it struck only the staff, with no one holding it.

"Are you looking for me, fucker?"

While the Mad Prince was focused on attacking, Raphael had never used his [Seer] ability, deceiving his enemy into thinking he was in control!

From the Mad Prince's right side, Raphael emerged, delivering a devastating punch to his face, shattering his skull.

If it weren't for the bone-and-blood weave, the Mad Prince would have died.

From behind Raphael, Fiend attacked with his remaining arm, but Raphael caught it mid-air.

He stared into Fiend's eyes, which were filled with fear.

With overwhelming strength, Raphael snapped Fiend's hand and kicked his leg, forcing him to collapse face-first.

Raphael tore Fiend's arm from his body.

He approached Fiend's head, raised his foot, and stomped on it, destroying it entirely.

Raphael discarded the severed arm and surveyed his surroundings.

None of the Six Plagues were left standing.

Against the Six Plagues, Raphael had emerged victorious!

He walked toward the Mad Prince to kill him once and for all.

Suddenly, the Mad Prince began laughing, and his body started changing.

The Mad Prince became a shadow!

'What?!'

It finally clicked in Raphael's mind. This wasn't the real Mad Prince, but one of his shadows!

Raphael's face changed in fear.

'Nephis!'

He quickly summoned his wings and launched himself toward the Chain Breaker.

It didn't take long to reach it.

Under the sacred tree, Nephis was leaning against it, her hand gently touching Sunny's cheek.

"Nephis!!"

Nephis looked up in surprise, then smiled.

"Raph… I'm sorry."

And with a mad grin, the Mad Prince sliced Nephis's head off.

Raphael landed on the ship and took Nephis's head, staring at it.

The once fiery eyes, full of determination, were now hollow and dark.

He rose, fury burning in his chest, and quickly attacked the Mad Prince.

From the shadows, five chains emerged, each held by a different version of the Mad Prince.

Raphael tried to break free, but he couldn't.

The Mad Prince walked forward and placed his hands on Raphael's helmet.

"Why why why why… why don't you become like us?" he taunted.

Raphael gritted his teeth, shouting, "I'll kill you!"

The Mad Prince laughed at his words.

The chains around him tightened, or perhaps Raphael was growing weaker.

The Mad Prince walked to the runic circle and activated it.

The Chain Breaker moved faster than ever.

In half an hour, Raphael found himself in the Estuary.

The Mad Prince led him to the top of the Estuary, where an inverted cross made of silver stood.

On the inverted cross, a message was written in runes:

"Here you shall be imprisoned.

Here you shall find the truth.

Here you shall be born again!

Hail Weaver, The Daemon of Fate!

Hail the Hanged Man, seeker of salvation!"

Raphael couldn't help but laugh. How could he not, when the message seemed to speak of him?

The Mad Prince began nailing Raphael upside-down to the inverted cross. The chains were designed to stop him from escaping, and the cross itself prevented him from using any Aspect Abilities.

Once everything was finished, the Mad Prince stepped back, summoning Sin of Solace. With his sword, he began to dance.

Raphael instinctively recognized it—'Shadow Dance.'

He stared at the dark sky in silence as the Mad Prince's laughter echoed throughout the Estuary.

Raphael would now be imprisoned here, fighting against the corruption and Nether will for hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions of years.

He would fight against corruption and madness… eternally.

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Finally we have reached it, I've done it! For three months I was planning for this! This is my first time writing a fight scene like this, and I think I did pretty good. And the ending of this chapter with Weaver Messege aghhhhh, I really loved it, and I hope you did too!

Leave a review on this fanfic, chapter and some power stones, so more people can read it.

See you again next time👋